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TweetDeck is the most useful application for managing Twitter that I’ve found ever. It is fully customizable – you have full control of every column, user, related tweet – this application is really time saver if you use it on regular basis. In this article I am trying to show real power of Tweetdeck, which seems to be hidden on the first moment, it is an Adobe Air-based application that runs on any platform (it requires Adobe Air 1.5 to be installed first) – at first I would suggest You also to play with settings, rollover buttons, they are often self explaining also revealing many hidden features.
I will start explaining the most important features

This is the most basic button, You probably use very often – here You can write status update as well as insert and shorten URL.

Also note there are also buttons where You can add picture, translate message, automatically shrink message (shorten words as possible) and automatically hash tag with most relevant and popular tags. Keep playing with buttons – you’ll get used to it pretty fast.
Open Friend tweet section column, usually it is open on default.
Open Reply column (lists all replies to your messages), usually this one is opened too. All messages with @yourtwittername included will be there.
Open direct messages column (DM), opened on default.
Opens Favorite message column.
Start new group, choose group members and manage them. This can be very handy to create specific column following just your selected friends, you want to take off the crowd. For example you can create one column – just where You talk with You work buddies and then maybe one more column where you select just your school friends. Read more about group creation here.
Use advanced search to search all relevant tweets into a new column – great way yo start conversation that You really take interest in. Very powerful tool, read more about it here.
Adds new column showing You hot trends, most often and popular topics – see what people are buzzing about.
12seconds is the best place online for video status updates. It’s a super easy way to share what you’re doing with your friends and family using short video clips. You can use your web cam or mobile phone. Show your friends where you are, share your thoughts, or tell them how you’re doing. We are building a video status platform that will help you keep up to date with your friends 12 seconds at a time.
Tweetdeck just add interaction with this project and service.
StockTwits is an open, community-powered idea and information service for investments. Users can eavesdrop on traders and investors, or contribute to the conversation and build their reputation as savvy market wizards. The service takes financial related data – using Twitter as the content production platform – and structures it by stock, user, reputation, etc.
Log into the site with your Twitter details and you will be presented with a user interface filled with comments and stats showing the top ticker buzz, the top StockTwit talkers, and the top gainers and losers.
Tweetdeck just add interaction with this great service.
Same here, adds Facebook interaction with Tweetdeck.
Okay, now we are a little more familiar with main navigation section. Continuing article, I’ll explain many short tips, which will help you navigate and use TweetDeck more effectively saving Your time in big amounts, of course, if you want it to spend at all on Twitter.
Just rollover on profile icon to get many options as reply, retweet, DM, follow,unfollow, add to group, favorite, search. With those buttons you can do anything you could need from another person in very handy way.

You can get 5 columns on Your TweetDeck if You choose Narrow columns. Also note if You click on the new buttons to open new columns, you should close some of already opened ones in order to see new ones or just scroll from left to right.

How to delete column

Now this one is extremely useful because for example, if you are searching for links to retweet you can type “http” and all messages with URL’s will be listed.
Also “RT @” is useful, because you filter messages, which your friends seemed to be worthy for retweeting.
One more – if you’re looking for questions to answer and help somebody just type question mark – “?” or “please” and you’ll get all questions or requests from your friends.

You can also filter by username – select dropdown list and write Your friend’s username and get only his tweets in one column. You can even select time frame and source – it gives you complete control to Your columns.

This is really good feature – Twitter API Limit Tracker. The API Tracker allows you to see how much of your Twitter API limit you’ve used and at what time your API limit will reset to 100%. You can see this limit on top right of Tweetdeck. On TweetDeck settings you can choose how you use this limit selecting how often Your columns updates, this is nice feature also if you have got a lot of followers. By limiting updates, you have enough time to read all interesting tweets in time.

As for me it’s pretty tiresome to read on dark background light letters and you know what – you can easily change it if you want! I just reversed colors and played some little more and got light, personalized TweetDeck profile. If you want, you can also share your Tweet color settings with friends or reset colors if you messed up something.

Okay, this ir pretty rough list explaining just the most important Tweetdeck features, if you want to dig really deep I listed several more resources, you can continue reading:
All your TweetDeck Questions Answered – 31 basic questions answered here, consider reading if You’re new to Tweetdeck.
Here You can find a lot of Tweetdeck tips explained with screenshots really detailed, site is dedicated to help You with Twitter, but Tweetdeck related articles explaining new features are pretty often there. Just keep searching, what You need.
-All things about TweetDeck and Twitter.
It seems obvious, but if you’re interested what’s happening with Tweetdeck, read their own blog. That’s all for short!
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Dainis Graveris is 23 years old blogger and designer, founder of 1stWebDesigner, now more silently managing everything behind the scenes. He usually hangs out in Twitter tweeting design related links and chatting with people. If you have any questions or feedback that's the best place to start! Cheers!
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 19:18
Very useful article as I still find it difficult to navigate the tweetdeck interface.
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 17:50
I’m actually learning how to use twitter better. Pretty useful!
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 17:37
When I first joined Twitter, I used Tweetdeck. Then I switched from a PC to a Mac and loaded it again after some time. By then I followed a lot of people and they wouldn’t all come up to create the groups I wanted. So, I kind of gave up on it. It might be useful to include something about how to create groups with a large # of followers etc. It seems I ran across something that said there was a limit but never really mastered the groups this way.
Friday, June 26th, 2009 01:47
Thanks for the tutorial. I just wrote a short post on my blog about it :)
Joans last blog post : Joint Ventures Using Social Networking Sites
Saturday, June 6th, 2009 21:10
Great post about tweetdeck, i didn’t know i could do such things with it even if i’m using it for 2 months now.
Luis Lopezs last blog post : 15 Sites To Find A Free Twitter Background
Thursday, June 4th, 2009 19:51
Typo – “Okay, this ir pretty rough list explaining” paragraph just before “All your TweetDeck Questions Answered” on the bottom. ir = is.
Great article!
Frank Stallones last blog post : MacHeist 3
Monday, June 1st, 2009 13:41
Have been looking for something to explain using this system. Thanks, will be studying it.
Andre Arnetts last blog post : Boy, It Has Been A While…
Monday, June 1st, 2009 20:19
you’ve shown all highlight of tweetdeck… made a new article with all that screenshot.
I think it very useful for most of the people, also I think tweetdeck interface explain itself.
.. the program has nice icons. you know how to use it without reading a manual.
Friday, May 29th, 2009 13:28
i gust want to say some thing “great job”
Update your Twitter randomly according to your intrest Or, from Rss Feed Or, from your own tweet message list Or, Any combination of the above three http://feedmytwitter.com
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 18:10
What a great post. Discovered 5 new things. Have retweeted it. Of course!
Sarah Turners last blog post : Shout it out: Why you should use an active voice
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 07:16
This is definitely an informative post. What would help me more, though, is a table with check marks comparing features between the most popular Twitter desktop clients (Tweetdeck vs. Seesmic, for example).
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 09:36
Great article. I think you might want to take a closer look at your RSS feeds though. The RSS feed for this article seems to have been injected with some unsavory content that isn’t in the main article.
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 13:34
hi,
this is a really informative post. it’s clear that you do quite a bit of research before putting together a post.
Recently i have started using twitter, i am still a newbee there. i use platforms like twittercounter to get a little recognition on twitter. i might give twitdeck a try.
thanks for notifying us.
peace
irtiza104s last blog post : Never Say “Never”, Dude!
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 02:34
Dugg it, Thumbs-Upped it and wrote a comment at Digg. Just a fan of your site in general. Keep up the good work. I’m convinced to use Tweetdeck now.
Guy McDowells last blog post : UTag ICE – USB Tags for Medical Emergencies
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 04:52
Fantastic article, very well detailed, far more thorough than my own on Tweetdeck, you should update with the “auto-fill usernames” so when you type @, it shows you a list of people you select and saves you time.
Dragon Bloggers last blog post : Twittervision Is One Fun Twitter Application
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 00:58
Thanks for the tips–I’ve just started using Tweetdeck because of this article. It’s really great! :)
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 12:40
I’m over due to start expending some effort to start saving some time on twitter.
madhollywoods last blog post : Some Voodoo Lines
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 16:34
Great thanks….
lawrence77s last blog post : Vodafone ZOOZOO Ads!
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 09:06
Great post, love TweetDeck, however one grammatical thing I picked up on the was niggling at me: you don’t have to capitalise the ‘Y’ on you and your :P
Thanks again for the writeup!
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 06:31
You’ve done a good job at highlighting all the features available in TweetDeck! It is an amazing tool for using Twitter more effectively.
LoneWolfs last blog post : You Might Be a Golfer
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 12:34
Nice list! I am using Hootsuite currently and may consider to switch to Tweetdeck after read this article!
Dickys last blog post : 10 Promising CSS Framework That Worth A Look
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 12:16
Nice Tuts, wish I’d seen it when I started using TweetDeck ..
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 09:18
Данный пост реально помог мне принять очень важное для себя решение. За что автору отдельное спасибо. Жду от Вас новых постов!
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Avertedd
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 09:18
Данный пост реально помог мне принять очень важное для себя решение. За что автору отдельное спасибо. Жду от Вас новых постов!
madhollywood
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 12:40
I’m over due to start expending some effort to start saving some time on twitter.
madhollywoods last blog post : Some Voodoo Lines
Bonnie
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 00:58
Thanks for the tips–I’ve just started using Tweetdeck because of this article. It’s really great! :)
Dragon Blogger
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 04:52
Fantastic article, very well detailed, far more thorough than my own on Tweetdeck, you should update with the “auto-fill usernames” so when you type @, it shows you a list of people you select and saves you time.
Dragon Bloggers last blog post : Twittervision Is One Fun Twitter Application
Guy McDowell
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 02:34
Dugg it, Thumbs-Upped it and wrote a comment at Digg. Just a fan of your site in general. Keep up the good work. I’m convinced to use Tweetdeck now.
Guy McDowells last blog post : UTag ICE – USB Tags for Medical Emergencies
Dainis Graveris
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 17:42
Thank You – I really hope I’ll create some new Tweetdeck users, because I really love this application! I wish I could have such tutorial too when I get started :))
lawrence77
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 16:34
Great thanks….
lawrence77s last blog post : Vodafone ZOOZOO Ads!
Martin Newham
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 12:16
Nice Tuts, wish I’d seen it when I started using TweetDeck ..
Dicky
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 12:34
Nice list! I am using Hootsuite currently and may consider to switch to Tweetdeck after read this article!
Dickys last blog post : 10 Promising CSS Framework That Worth A Look
LoneWolf
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 06:31
You’ve done a good job at highlighting all the features available in TweetDeck! It is an amazing tool for using Twitter more effectively.
LoneWolfs last blog post : You Might Be a Golfer
Moe
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 09:06
Great post, love TweetDeck, however one grammatical thing I picked up on the was niggling at me: you don’t have to capitalise the ‘Y’ on you and your :P
Thanks again for the writeup!
irtiza104
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 13:34
hi,
this is a really informative post. it’s clear that you do quite a bit of research before putting together a post.
Recently i have started using twitter, i am still a newbee there. i use platforms like twittercounter to get a little recognition on twitter. i might give twitdeck a try.
thanks for notifying us.
peace
irtiza104s last blog post : Never Say “Never”, Dude!
John Fredrickson
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 09:36
Great article. I think you might want to take a closer look at your RSS feeds though. The RSS feed for this article seems to have been injected with some unsavory content that isn’t in the main article.
Joan
Friday, June 26th, 2009 01:47
Thanks for the tutorial. I just wrote a short post on my blog about it :)
Joans last blog post : Joint Ventures Using Social Networking Sites
Cathy Tishhouse
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 17:37
When I first joined Twitter, I used Tweetdeck. Then I switched from a PC to a Mac and loaded it again after some time. By then I followed a lot of people and they wouldn’t all come up to create the groups I wanted. So, I kind of gave up on it. It might be useful to include something about how to create groups with a large # of followers etc. It seems I ran across something that said there was a limit but never really mastered the groups this way.
John Parks
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 17:50
I’m actually learning how to use twitter better. Pretty useful!
faycal
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 19:18
Very useful article as I still find it difficult to navigate the tweetdeck interface.
Luis Lopez
Saturday, June 6th, 2009 21:10
Great post about tweetdeck, i didn’t know i could do such things with it even if i’m using it for 2 months now.
Luis Lopezs last blog post : 15 Sites To Find A Free Twitter Background
Frank Stallone
Thursday, June 4th, 2009 19:51
Typo – “Okay, this ir pretty rough list explaining” paragraph just before “All your TweetDeck Questions Answered” on the bottom. ir = is.
Great article!
Frank Stallones last blog post : MacHeist 3
Katharine
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 07:16
This is definitely an informative post. What would help me more, though, is a table with check marks comparing features between the most popular Twitter desktop clients (Tweetdeck vs. Seesmic, for example).
Sarah Turner
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 18:10
What a great post. Discovered 5 new things. Have retweeted it. Of course!
Sarah Turners last blog post : Shout it out: Why you should use an active voice
srdha
Friday, May 29th, 2009 13:28
i gust want to say some thing “great job”
Update your Twitter randomly according to your intrest Or, from Rss Feed Or, from your own tweet message list Or, Any combination of the above three http://feedmytwitter.com
Andre Arnett
Monday, June 1st, 2009 13:41
Have been looking for something to explain using this system. Thanks, will be studying it.
Andre Arnetts last blog post : Boy, It Has Been A While…
designiac
Monday, June 1st, 2009 20:19
you’ve shown all highlight of tweetdeck… made a new article with all that screenshot.
I think it very useful for most of the people, also I think tweetdeck interface explain itself.
.. the program has nice icons. you know how to use it without reading a manual.